The nuclear reactor at Wylfa in Anglesea is approximately 60 miles uninterrupted sea from the city of Dublin. Obviously the safety of this reactor is a matter of the gravest importance to this country. There are two reactors at Wylfa, what are known as gas-cooled graphite moderated Magnox reactors using uranium metal fuel rods as the basic fuel. One has been in operation since November 1971 and the other since January 1972. Since the nuclear accident at Harrisburg, there is every reason to be concerned about nuclear safety in this country as in any other. In relation to the Magnox reactor there were problems with the corrosion in the reactors themselves during the development of this type of reactor in Britain. I understand that in Britain they have moved on to a more advanced reactor.
It is a very important point and worthy of note that there does not seem to be any regular system whereby Irish personnel, either from the Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy or from the Nuclear Energy Board, regularly visit this reactor which is only 60 miles from our coast. Apparently officials from the Nuclear Energy Board visited the reactor but from inquiries I made it seems that this was on one occasion and some time ago. There is no system for the regular inspection of this reactor by Irish personnel, even though, if there were an accident, it would be of greater danger to the people of Dublin than it would be to the people in the United Kingdom which is further away, notwithstanding the fact that we are not getting any benefit from this reactor while the people of Britain derive direct benefit from the energy produced there.
I understand there are consultations with the personnel of the United Kingdom regulatory agencies. Have our official personnel access to all the information obtained by British personnel in the course of their regulatory activities? I understand that not all the information obtained by these personnel is published in the United Kingdom. Do we get not only the published material about the safety of these reactors but also the unpublished material? Are our agencies independently able to satisfy themselves of that? It is not enough for us to accept the activities of the British regulatory agencies on faith.
Irish health could be at risk in the event of a nuclear accident and there must be Irish personnel responsible to an Irish Minister who can satisfy themselves, independently of anything done by the British personnel, of the absolute safety of this reactor. We cannot afford to accept this matter on faith from people in Britain who obviously have an interest in minimising any concern which might be brought to notice because they have already invested a substantial amount of money in these reactors and do not wish to be proved wrong. We do not have that commitment but we should have access to that information.
There are other dangers apart from an accident at the reactor itself which usually occurs as the result of a breakdown in the cooling mechanism. There is also a danger that some of the highly radioactive material could escape while in storage. On 19 June 1979 in reply to my Question No. 9, at column 476, volume 315 of the Official Report the Minister said:
Spent fuel containing the highly radioactive waste products is, on removal from the reactors, stored at Wylfa for a period normally less than one year and then transferred in specially designed transport casks to the Windscale Works near Seascale in Cumbria for reprocessing.
Both Wylfa and the Windscale Works are on the Irish Sea. Therefore, any escape of radioactive material from either of these storage points could pose a danger to us. It is worth nothing that radioactive material, similar to that being put in storage in these various places, will remain a potential hazard up to the year 2500 AD. This material does not become safe quickly and the storage of this material will be a matter of concern to Irish authorities for the next 600 years and vigilance will have to be maintained for that period.
On 19 June the Minister admitted that small quantities of low-level gaseous and liquid radioactive effluents were discharged to the atmosphere and the Irish Sea in accordance with authorisations issued by UK authorities through their licensing and control arrangements. In other words, he admitted that radioactive material is being discharged into the Irish Sea. The British will obviously make the case that this radioactivity is of such a low level that it is not a danger to health. However, in theory at least, there is no such thing as safe radioactive material because radioactivity remains in material a long time after it has been discharged, and there is the possibility it will accumulate in the sea into which it is being discharged over a period. While no individual discharge may be dangerous, the accumulation of discharges over a period could create a dangerous situation.
Furthermore, there is evidence that even low levels of radiation can injure health. Studies carried out on people, such as radiologists, who come into regular contact with radiation, show that they suffer some consequences. Therefore, even low level radioactive material being discharged into the Irish Sea could pose a danger to our health. I want to draw the Minister's attention to a report which appears in today's Irish Times, page 13, which reads:
The discharge of atomic waste from the Windscale nuclear plant into the Irish Sea is increasing the risk of cancer among people who consume fish——
